Burial device



July 7, 1936.

H. NOLD BURIAL DEVICE Filed Dec. 14', 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented July 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a burial device, or, more specifically, a casket or coffin such as may be used for displaying a body.

An object of the invention is to provide a cofiin or casket so constructed or arranged as to closely resemble an ordinary couch or bed, thereby to remove from the display the unpleasant impressions or suggestions of irigidity and lifelessness.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character stated, which may be easily and quickly set up and closed.

Other objects of the invention reside in the details of construction of the device, and in the novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter illustrated or described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the burial device of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the device with the slab or body supporting element removed.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device illustrated in Fig. 1.

As is clearly evident from the disclosure of Fig. 1 in the accompanying drawings, the coffin or casket of the present invention has the appearance of an ordinary bed or couch, and it therefore desirably lacks the usual coffin or casket suggestion which is so very distasteful to many observers. The means whereby the device is thus rendered more desirable and attractive to the purchaser, will be described in detail in the description which follows.

The device of the invention comprises a box portion or casing 5 having side walls 6, end walls I and a bottom wall 8. Said box or casing may be supported upon suitable leg structures or leg units 9 which are removable therefrom. The box or casing is adapted to be closed by means of a pair of cover sections or lid parts In and I2 which, when placed in the vertical or set up position, provide the head and foot boards of the device, whereby to impart thereto the bed or couch appearance above mentioned. Within the box portion or casing is disposed a slab element or body support l3 that may be elevated or lowered within the box portion or casing 5. The slab element, if desired, may carry a suitable head rest l4. Any suitable means, for example, the series of lifting tapes or handle members l5 may be provided for manually elevating or lowering the slab element with respect to the interior of the casing so that the lid parts l0 and I2 may be placed in position atop the box or casing and provide a closure therefor. When the device is thus prepared for burial, the leg structures or units 9 are removed, and may be subsequently used on another casket or coflin.

As is most clearly indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, the interior of the box or casing 5 is provided 5 with two or more slab supports 16, each of which is hinged to the bottom wall of the box as at [1 so that they may assume the vertical position shown or a horizontal inoperative position indicated by the broken lines l8. When in the vertical position, the supports I6 provide rests or standards upon which the slab element or body support [3 may rest. Each of the supports I6 is urged normally to the horizontal or inoperative position by the use of resilient means [9 and 20 which may be in the form of springs or elastic ribbons anchored as at 2| to the bottom wall 8, and to the support members l6 at a location such as 22'. It is considered preferable, though not absolutely necessary, to offset the fastening means 2| from the vertical plane passing through the means 22, so that the elastics or resilient members l9 and 20 will be stretched even when the slab supports are held thereby in the horizontal or inoperative position. As indicated in Fig. 3, the supports I6 may be maintained in the vertical positions by the use of a slab support release element or spacer bar 23, the ends 24 of which are adaptedto abut the members l6 and keep them spaced apart until the slab element I3 is placed in position thereon.

. As soon as the weight of the slab element is applied to-the supports Hi, the spacer bar 23 may be removed by simply displacing it by means of the cord or tape I24. The lower face of the slab element l3 may be provided with suitable slab rests 25 which are adapted to strike the bottom wall 8, and keep the slab slightly elevated above the slab supports l6 when in the collapsed or inoperative position indicated at I8.

It will readily be understood, from the foregoing, that the slab I3 is lowered into the box or casing by simply lifting it slightly by means of the tapes or handle members IS in order to permit the supports IE to move to the inoperative or- 5 lowered position. The slab thereupon may be lowered bodily into the interior of the box.

The slab element l3 preferably is provided with a pair of side boards or leaves 26 and 21 which are hinged as at I28 to the side edges of the slab element. These side boards or leaves are adapted to rest upon the top surfaces 28 of the side walls, and they serve not only to enhance the appearance of the device but also to cover certain lid guides which will be described and referred to hereafter. The head rest M, if desired, may be suitably hinged upon the slab element at 29, and one or more braces 30 may be provided to maintain the head rest in an inclined position. The side boards 26 and 21 preferably are of a length approximating the length of the slab, and any decorative material applied thereto will naturally and easily be folded inwardly toward the slab when the slab is lowered into the box or casing.

Suitable means are provided for maintaining the lid parts or cover sections in the vertical set up or display position wherein said parts or sec tions provide the head and foot boards of the device, to impart thereto the bed or couch appearance. Although only one type of such means is disclosed and described herein, it is to be understood that various other types of means for holding the lid parts may be employed. The simple means disclosed comprises one or more hooks or the like 3| which are mounted upon the lid sections as at 32, these hooks being adapted to hook over the end walls of the box or casing and thus suspend the lid parts or cover sections in position substantially parallel to the end walls 7. The lateral edges 52 and 33 of the lid parts are provided with suitable cooperative means 34 and 35, for providing a seal along the inner lateral edges thereof. It is immaterial to the invention whether the cooperative means 3435 is in the form of a mortise and tenon joint or in some other suitable form of interlocking joint.

The lid sections and the top edges of the side walls of the box preferably are provided with cooperative guide means for maintaining the lid section in closed position upon the box or casing. Said guide means, if desired, may be in the form of a series of headed studs or screws 37, the heads of which are adapted to enter the longitudinal guide slots 38 which are carried by the side walls of the box. The terminal ends of each slot are formed with an enlarged aperture 39 to receive the heads of the studs 31, while the intermediate slot portion 38 is sufficiently narrow to preclude vertical lifting of the stud heads therethrough. The guide slots and apertures preferably are formed in suitable lengths of sheet metal or the like 40 which may be screwed or otherwise fastened, as at 4|, to the top edges of the side walls. From the foregoing it should be evident that the lid sections may be applied to the box portion by engaging the heads of the studs 31 beneath the walls of the slots 38, by way of the enlarged apertures 39, and that the lid parts cannot be lifted vertically from the box without first sliding them to a position at which the stud heads coincide with the enlarged openings or apertures 39.

After the lid parts or cover sections are applied to the box and slid toward each other to the closed position, they are to be secured in place by use of any suitable type of lid locking or latching means. One simple form of such means is illustrated in the drawings, wherein the characters 12 and 43 indicate screw threaded studs which extend from the end walls of the box, the studs being adapted to receive, respectively, the perforate lugs 44 and 45 on the ends of the lid or cover parts i2 and I0 when the parts are applied to close the casket. Suitable nuts or fastening means 46 and 41 may cooperate with the screw threaded studs to fasten the perforate lugs 44 and 45 against the end walls 1. By tightening the nuts upon the screw studs, with the perforate lugs in position thereon, the sealing means 34 and are forced to a tight fit while at the same time the outer and edges of the cover parts are held down securely upon the top edges of end walls 1. As before stated, the cooperative elements 3'! and 38 serve also to hold the cover parts in the operative position atop the box.

In view of the foregoing it should readily be understood that the lid parts may easily be moved to the operative or closing position by simply lifting them slightly to disengage the hooks 3!, (Fig. 3) and then tilting them until the headed studs enter the apertures 39 (Fig. 2), whereupon said parts may be slid toward each other until their sealing elements 34 and 35 meet and engage. Thus, there is provided a means whereby the cover parts are moved to the operative or closing position by a simple continuous sliding movement lengthwise of the casket.

Inasmuch as the means disclosed herein, for accomplishing the above results, readily suggest various other means whereby the same results 20 may be obtained, it is intended that the claims hereof shall include such other means except where the claims specify the exact means disclosed.

The removable leg units may each comprise two opposite legs and a cross brace 48 connecting them. The legs may have fixed thereto the upwardly extending tongues or the like 49, (Fig. 1), which are adapted to enter hollow socket members 50 carried by opposed walls of the box 5. It is immaterial whether the legs be individual associated with the box, or arranged as a complete trestle structure. As is obvious, the leg structure may, if desired, be built as a composite unit upon which the box may rest without the use of any fastening or aligning means whatever. When the device is in use, the lifting means or tapes l5 may be disposed entirely within the box 5, and the cord I24 together with the spacer element 23 may either be disposed within the box or removed entirely therefrom.

What is claimed is:

l. A burial device comprising, in combination, a box having side, end, and bottom walls, a body supporting slab of proper dimensions to be ele-' vated and lowered interiorly of the box in substantial parallelism with the bottom wall, means for supporting the slab in an elevated position at approximately the level of the top edges of the side walls of the box, and side boards along the side edges of the slab each movable to a position in which the top edges of the box are covered thereby and in which the spaces between the side Walls and the slab sides are closed.

2. A burial device comprising, in combination, a box having side, end, and bottom walls, a body supporting slab of proper dimensions to be elevated and lowered interiorly of the box in substantial parallelism with the bottom wall, displaceable means for supporting the slab in an elevated position at approximately the level of the top edges of the side walls of the box, and side boards hinged at opposite sides of the slab longitudinally thereof, to overlie the top edges of the side walls of the box, whereupon lowering of the slab into the box causes the side boards to automatically fold inwardly and upwardly relative to the slab, after displacement of the displaceable slab supporting means.

3. A burial device comprising, in combination, a box having side, end, and bottom walls, a body supporting slab of proper dimensions to be elevated and lowered interiorly of the box in substantial parallelism with the bottom wall, displaceable means comprising a pair of spaced members causes the side boards to automatically fold inwardly and upwardly relative to the slab, upon displacement of the displaceable slab supporting means, and means normally urging the slab supporting means toward one another to a displaced 5 position beneath the slab.

HUBERT NOLD. 

